Made in Knokke

Hubert Bonnet has just had the Villa Paquebot restored, a modernist holiday home built in Knokke in 1936 by the architect Louis Herman De Koninck. The Knokke-born businessman and art collector lives in Switzerland. "It's a folly, but I couldn't let an opportunity like this pass me by." "When I bought this villa ten years ago, everything was derelict. The frame was even visible in some places," says this businessman, who is active in real estate and finance and whose family owned the Forges de Clabecq. Born in Knokke, raised between Belgium and Switzerland, with a master's degree in management from the University of Dallas, Hubert Bonnet quickly plunged into active life. "My mother was a real businesswoman, and she showed me the way. I was 23 years old when she passed away in 1996, and I immediately took over from her," says this racy young man.